Series A Odds – Can Anyone Challenge Juve?

Yawn. Just three fixtures deep into the season, the Serie A table is already the same as it ever was. Five-time reigning champ Juventus (3-0-0) are already two points clear of second, averaging two goals per game while holding opponents to less than one.

Genoa are also unblemished at this early stage, but their wins have come against Cagliari and Cretone, two sides that figure to be fighting against relegation.

If anyone is going to threaten the champs this year, it will likely be Napoli or Roma. Both of their offenses have looked dynamic early, scoring nine goals through three fixtures.

Let’s take a closer look at the favorite … I mean favorites … and their odds to capture the Scudetto.

Juventus: 3/10

Juventus are the only team that has won all three games after three fixtures. Their pilfering of Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli has already paid off. He has three goals so far. The loss of Paul Pogba doesn’t look all that important. Juan Cuadrado is filling in nicely. A sixth straight league title is in the cards.

Napoli: 6/1

Napoli (2-1-0) have a solid team and lead the league with nine-goals for. But the offense won’t be able to sustain its early pace without Higuain, and  the team hasn’t won the Serie A title since 1990. Another second-place finish is the most likely outcome for this perennial bridesmaid.

AS Roma: 9/1

Roma are even with Napoli in all respects to date, record (2-1-0), goals-for (nine), and goals-against (four).

Unlike Napoli and Juventus, who are in the Champions League, Roma are balancing their domestic schedule with a Europa League slate. This could be tricky because the Europa League plays on Thursdays, giving Roma one fewer day to prepare for weekend Serie A matches. That said, they won’t be devoting the same sort of resources to their European competition as Juventus and Napoli. Talent and roster depth are what’s really going to hold this team back from challenging Juventus.

Inter Milan: 20/1

Inter Milan are 1-1-1 on the year and have been outscored 4-3, in total. You can already tell that they’re going to have the same issues as last year: they can’t score. New coach Frank DeBoer hasn’t found a way to change that.

AC Milan: 66/1

AC Milan have already lost two games (1-0-2) and have a -2 goal difference. They’re only fifth in the odds because of their name and their history. This is a bad team that can’t keep the ball out of its own net, just like last year. Their seven goals against are the worst in the league at this early stage.

The Field:

Fiorentina: 80/1

Lazio: 250/1

Sassuolo: 250/1

Torino: 250/1

Sampdoria: 400/1

Chievo: 500/1

Udinese: 750/1

Genoa: 500/1

Atalanta: 1000/1

Cagliari: 1000/1

Bologna: 1000/1

Empoli: 100/1

Palermo: 1500/1

Pescara: 1500/1

Crotone: 2500/1

Photo Credit: LauraHale CC BY-SA 3.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.